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Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study

Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority population group in the United States, and children in low-income Latino families are at elevated risk of becoming overweight or having obesity. A child’s home is an important social environment in which he/she develops and maintains dietary and p...

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Autores principales: Lindsay, Ana Cristina, Wallington, Sherrie F., Lees, Faith D., Greaney, Mary L.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5982017/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29757941
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050978
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author Lindsay, Ana Cristina
Wallington, Sherrie F.
Lees, Faith D.
Greaney, Mary L.
author_facet Lindsay, Ana Cristina
Wallington, Sherrie F.
Lees, Faith D.
Greaney, Mary L.
author_sort Lindsay, Ana Cristina
collection PubMed
description Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority population group in the United States, and children in low-income Latino families are at elevated risk of becoming overweight or having obesity. A child’s home is an important social environment in which he/she develops and maintains dietary and physical activity (PA) habits that ultimately impact weight status. Previous research suggests the parents are central to creating a home environment that facilitates or hinders the development of children’s early healthy eating and PA habits. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore low-income Latino parents’ beliefs, parenting styles, and parenting practices related to their children’s eating and PA behaviors while at home. Methods: Qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGDs) with 33 low-income Latino parents of preschool children 2 to 5 years of age. FGDs were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Data analyses revealed that most parents recognize the importance of healthy eating and PA for their children and themselves. However, daily life demands including conflicting schedules, long working hours, financial constraints, and neighborhood safety concerns, etc., impact parents’ ability to create a home environment supportive of these behaviors. Conclusions: This study provides information about how the home environment may influence low-income Latino preschool children’s eating and PA habits, which may be useful for health promotion and disease prevention efforts targeting low-income Latino families with young children, and for developing home-based and parenting interventions to prevent and control childhood obesity among this population group. Pediatric healthcare providers can play an important role in facilitating communication, providing education, and offering guidance to low-income Latino parents that support their children’s development of early healthy eating and PA habits, while taking into account daily life barriers faced by families. Moreover, pediatric healthcare providers also can play an important role in the integration and coordination of home-visitations to complement office-based visits and provide a continuum of care to low-income Latino families.
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spelling pubmed-59820172018-06-07 Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study Lindsay, Ana Cristina Wallington, Sherrie F. Lees, Faith D. Greaney, Mary L. Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority population group in the United States, and children in low-income Latino families are at elevated risk of becoming overweight or having obesity. A child’s home is an important social environment in which he/she develops and maintains dietary and physical activity (PA) habits that ultimately impact weight status. Previous research suggests the parents are central to creating a home environment that facilitates or hinders the development of children’s early healthy eating and PA habits. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore low-income Latino parents’ beliefs, parenting styles, and parenting practices related to their children’s eating and PA behaviors while at home. Methods: Qualitative study using focus group discussions (FGDs) with 33 low-income Latino parents of preschool children 2 to 5 years of age. FGDs were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Data analyses revealed that most parents recognize the importance of healthy eating and PA for their children and themselves. However, daily life demands including conflicting schedules, long working hours, financial constraints, and neighborhood safety concerns, etc., impact parents’ ability to create a home environment supportive of these behaviors. Conclusions: This study provides information about how the home environment may influence low-income Latino preschool children’s eating and PA habits, which may be useful for health promotion and disease prevention efforts targeting low-income Latino families with young children, and for developing home-based and parenting interventions to prevent and control childhood obesity among this population group. Pediatric healthcare providers can play an important role in facilitating communication, providing education, and offering guidance to low-income Latino parents that support their children’s development of early healthy eating and PA habits, while taking into account daily life barriers faced by families. Moreover, pediatric healthcare providers also can play an important role in the integration and coordination of home-visitations to complement office-based visits and provide a continuum of care to low-income Latino families. MDPI 2018-05-14 2018-05 /pmc/articles/PMC5982017/ /pubmed/29757941 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050978 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Lindsay, Ana Cristina
Wallington, Sherrie F.
Lees, Faith D.
Greaney, Mary L.
Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study
title Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study
title_full Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study
title_short Exploring How the Home Environment Influences Eating and Physical Activity Habits of Low-Income, Latino Children of Predominantly Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Study
title_sort exploring how the home environment influences eating and physical activity habits of low-income, latino children of predominantly immigrant families: a qualitative study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5982017/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29757941
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15050978
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